Ilmatar

Ilmatar

Continuing the artistic revival they experienced with <I>Vihma</I>, Finland's Värttinä add plenty of space and new textures to their musical mix with <I>Ilmatar</I>. Unlike the constant, breakneck-speed music and singing that had been their trademark, there are plenty of slower songs here, and a great deal of room to breathe, thanks to producer Hughes de Courson (Malicorne, Manu Dibango). The voices still have the wild, sometimes shrill harmonies, but with more room to maneuver, and it's easier to hear the often delicate interplay between them. While Värttinä might play fewer notes, they make powerful musical statements that are sometimes sinister, sometimes gorgeous in this album-length tale of the Finnish sun goddess, which completes the mythological trilogy they began with <I>Kokko</I>. Värttinä are deservedly the brand name in Finnish folk-rock. <I>--Chris Nickson</I>